Kate Lang wasn’t sure she made the right call on her final set of a tense duel.

But Riley Wagoner rewarded the University of Hawaii setter’s decision by drilling her 18th kill of the night to finish off a five-set victory over UC Santa Barbara on Friday that secured the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team’s third straight Big West championship.

Wagoner’s final kill punctuated UH’s 23-25, 25-20, 26-28, 25-18, 15-11 comeback victory in the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, Calif., and clinched UH’s 11th Big West title and 40th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

“It was a really great game on both sides. Both teams put everything on the floor and it showed with the emotion at the end,” Wagoner said in a phone interview.

“Every (championship) is really an awesome feeling and just a reward for all the hard work we’ve been putting in. … It’s just really nice to achieve your goal like that. But we are definitely not done. We want to keep doing well in the tournament — that’s always our goal, and I think it’s a steppingstone for us.”

The Rainbow Wahine (21-6, 18-1 Big West) entered the week needing to win one of two matches in their final road trip of the regular season to clinch the outright title. They got it done in their first opportunity while extending their winning streak to 11 and snapping UCSB’s home win streak at 13.

They’ll close the regular season today at Cal State Northridge (9-22, 4-15) and will learn of their next destination on Sunday when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed. The tournament selection show is set for 2:30 p.m. on Sunday on ESPNU.

“The one thing is they kept fighting, like they always do,” UH coach Robyn Ah Mow said after the Wahine earned the program’s 29th straight NCAA berth, not counting 2020, when the Big West canceled the women’s volleyball season due to the pandemic.

“Now we know we’re continuing our season, but we gotta use that game (today) to prepare for next week,”

Wagoner sparked the UH defense with 17 digs, and her 18 kills tied middle blocker Amber Igiede for match-high honors. Igiede hit .417 on her 36 swings and was in on five of UH’s seven blocks.

Outside hitter Caylen Alexander overcame a rough stretch in the third set to finish with 16 kills, and opposite Braelyn Akana added 10 kills.

Lang tied a season high with 55 assists, matched her career high with 17 digs and set a career best with six kills for a UH attack that hit .318.

With UCSB focusing on Igiede in the middle, Lang sent her final set to Wagoner on the left pin, but “she still had two blockers up because UCSB is so fast and so talented as a blocking team,” Lang said.

“I was, ‘Oh shoot, did I just make the wrong call?’’ (Wagoner) just turned her wrist and did this cut and it went down and it was amazing. It was so cool.”

UH libero Tayli Ikenaga finished with 13 digs for a defense that withstood a UCSB barrage that also had four attackers with double-figure kills.

UCSB outside hitter Michelle Ohwobete led the Gauchos (20-10, 16-4) with 17 kills, Tallulah Froley added 16 and Tasia Farmer had 15 in their regular-season finale. Punahou alumna Mehana Ma’a had 33 assists and 13 digs on senior night in the Thunderdome.

But UH completed a sweep of the season series with UCSB a year after the Gauchos won both meetings with the Wahine, including a win on senior night in Manoa.

“We were talking as a team that we all know how it feels to be in this gym and not come out with a win,” Lang said, “and we were talking about how we don’t want to feel like that again.”

The Gauchos and Wahine traded early runs and 10 consecutive sideouts before UH edged out to a 19-16 lead in the first set. UCSB went on a 3-0 run and there would be three more ties until Froley scored from the right side to give the Gauchos set point and Ohwobete ended the set.

The second set was knotted 14-14 when UH went on a 5-0 run capped by an ace from Kendra Ham. UCSB closed to 22-20, but UH scored the next three points, with Akana landing a roll shot to even the match.

UH erased an eight-point deficit in the third set to catch UCSB at 22-22. The Wahine fought off two set points before earning one of their own at 26-25. UCSB survived, then moved ahead on a Deni Wilson kill in the middle and took the set with an ace from Nia Correal.

UH edged out to a 16-12 lead in the fourth set and took command when Lang’s free ball found an open spot, followed by an ace to give UH a 21-14 lead on the way to forcing a fifth set.

The teams traded three-point runs early in the fifth and UH took the lead for good with a 6-1 run sparked by two kills from Tiffany Westerberg and capped by a kill from Akana. UH then ended it on its second attempt at match point when Wagoner’s shot landed in the middle of the UCSB defense.

“What really helped us was our resilience and always pushing through no matter how far we’re down and gaining momentum, even if that momentum is for the next set,” Lang said.